She blinked. “Uh, do you think that’s a good idea?”

“I wouldn’t have asked if I didn’t.”

He waited for her to turn him down. He knew last night was a fluke, and he probably shouldn’t have asked.

“Emma and Luke are coming home tomorrow. Emma doesn’t know about my mom yet, so there’ll be that to deal with.”

“Okay. So does that mean no?”

“I . . . don’t know. Let me get back to you.”

He nodded. “All right. I gotta go.”

“See you later, Carter.”

“Bye, Molly.”

Before she had a chance to walk away, he pulled her against him and brushed his lips against hers. A quick kiss, but it reignited what had happened between them last night.

He took a step back. “Yeah, it wasn’t just the alcohol last night.”

She didn’t say anything, just looked at him with those gorgeous blue eyes of hers.

He grinned. “Have a good day, Molly.”

MOLLY STOOD ON the front porch and watched Carter drive away.

So many things were wrong about the two of them, the main thing being their history together.

But so many things were right, including the smoking-hot chemistry that still lingered between them.

Maybe she just needed to jump him, get him in bed and get that residual chemistry out of her system. Then she could firmly close the door on the past. And on Carter.

But going out with him? Was that a good idea?

Probably not. She’d have to think about it.

First she’d have to get through Emma’s homecoming.

She went back in the house.

Chapter 16

MOLLY’S PARENTS’ HOUSE was filled with people, all talking over each other.

Just as she had expected, Emma was livid when she discovered their mom had had a serious accident and no one had told her. She was mad at Molly, and at their dad.

First, though, Emma had spent several hours with their mother, so Molly had stayed out of the way while Emma and Luke had visited with Mom.

Molly had known Emma was going to be unhappy, and she’d prepared herself for the worst of Emma’s anger over keeping her in the dark.

When her sister finally took a break, she grabbed Molly’s arm. “We need to talk.”

She took her out back. It was a cool fall day, so they grabbed their jackets.

“You look nice and tan. How was the honeymoon?” Molly asked as they grabbed chairs on the patio.

“Oh, no. We’re not talking about the honeymoon. Why didn’t you call me?”

“Because you and Luke were in Hawaii, because you would have hopped the first flight back here.”

“Of course we would have.” Emma frowned. “She’s hurt, Molly. Badly.”

“Yes, she is. And Dad and I took care of it. Of her. And now she’s beginning to heal.”

Emma’s eyes filled with tears. “It was my responsibility to be here for her.”

“It was her idea not to call you.”

“Of course it was. Because she’s independent, and she never wants to bother anyone. That’s Mom’s way of handling everything. That’s why she got hurt in the first place. But you know better. Dad knows better. We’re a family and we deal with things together.”

“Do we? It was lucky I was here. If I’d been gone, you would have been the one to drop everything. You would have had to put your life on hold to handle this, Emma. But you weren’t here and I was, so I dealt with it. Isn’t it about time I was the one to step up so you and Luke could enjoy your honeymoon?”

Emma was silent for a minute. “You could have at least told me.”

“We could have, but we made the best decision we could at the time, Em. For you and for Luke. You had what we hope was an awesome honeymoon, and you got to have it worry free. If there’d been complications and Mom had been in any danger, I would have picked up the phone and called you immediately so you could have come home. But she was okay, and she’s going to be fine. It’ll take awhile, but she’ll get through this and be her old self again.”

Emma took a deep breath, then let out a sigh. “Well, I’m here now. Do you want to take off?”

Molly didn’t hesitate. “No. I’m here. I’m committed.”

“I could step in, you know.”

“I know you could. But you’ve been doing that. You’ve always been here for them, even when you were away. Now it’s my turn, don’t you think?”

Emma stared at her. “When did my little sister grow up?”

Molly laughed. “I don’t know. I guess when I saw Mom lying there on the floor, crying and in pain. It scared the shit out of me, Em.”

Emma’s eyes filled with tears. She nodded. “I can’t even imagine how awful that must have been. I’m sorry I wasn’t here.”

“Stop that. I was here. And you were exactly where you were supposed to be. On your honeymoon with your husband.”

“You quit your job in Austin?”

“Yeah.”

“I’m sorry, Moll. You didn’t have to do that.”

“Yes, I did. You know Dad can’t handle this alone. And as for me, there’s always another job on the horizon. When Mom’s back on her feet again, I’ll be on my way.”

Emma leaned across the table and grasped Molly’s hand. “Or maybe you’ll decide Hope isn’t so bad after all, and you’ll stay.”

Molly took a deep breath. “I don’t know about that. I do like to travel.”

“Is that the real reason you’ve been gone all these years?”

“No.” She was shocked she’d said the word.

Emma leaned back. “That’s the first time you’ve ever admitted there’s something else.”

“I know. But it’s cold out here, and now’s not the time to talk about it.”

“Promise me you’ll tell me.”

Molly squeezed her sister’s hand. “I promise.”

“Okay. So I brought like a thousand photos back from Hawaii. Wanna see?”

“You know I do.” Molly stood. “Let’s go inside and make some hot chocolate and look at your pictures.”

They looked at the photos, which were fabulous, and reaffirmed the decision to not notify Luke and Emma about Mom’s injury. It was obvious the time they’d spent in Hawaii had been good for both of them. In every photo Emma and Luke looked relaxed. Happy. So much in love.